El Pais: Latin America in the hands of Wall Street Latin America is the most-indebted region in the Third World [at $2.5 trillion]. According to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the average gross debt of governments is 77.7% of regional GDP, and the total cost of servicing the debt – interest payments – represents 59% of exports of both goods and services. In 2020, the global debt rose to $226 trillion, its biggest yearly rise since World War II. The majority of this debt is now no longer between governments, but between private banks and governments.
Peoples Dispatch: Venezuela condemns British Supreme court ruling to maintain blockade on gold Britain’s Supreme Court decided on December 20 to maintain the blockade of 31 tons of Venezuelan gold, valued around $2 billion, deposited at the Bank of England. They annulled part of the Court of Appeals’ decision that favored the claim of the legitimate government of Nicolás Maduro over its international reserves. The Foreign Ministry of Venezuela released a statement condemning the ruling as an “abusive action” and represented a subordination of Britain’s judicial system to “the illegal foreign policy actions deliberately taken by the British Executive, thus openly violating their own domestic and international legislation.” video: Britain blocks Venezuela from accessing its international reserves
Ultima Noticias: poll – Almost two out of three Venezuelans feel that the economy improved in 2021
Sputnik News: Venezuela Receives Seven Million Sputnik V Doses in Biggest One-Time Global Russian Vaccine Delivery The Russian-made Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine has been authorized in 71 countries with a total of four billion people, making up over 50% of the population on Earth. Venezuela received seven million doses of the Sputnik Light booster vaccine.
Resumen Latinoamericano: Cuba: What Can the Literacy Campaign Teach Us? December 22 is the 60th anniversary of Cuba’s historic literacy campaign, which culminated in providing 707,000 Cubans with the ability to read and write in just one year. A joint force of 121,000 Alfabetizadores Populares; 100,000 Conrado Benítez brigadistas; 15,000 Patria o Muerte brigadistas; 35,000 volunteer teachers, adding up to 271,000 educators, plus managers and insurers, made up an army of 300,000 people, and were the protagonists of a legendary feat that still resounds today.
The Hill: Cuba has vaccinated more than 90 percent of its population, surpassing the US, other wealthier nations According to an analysis by Reuters, Cuba has vaccinated more than 90% of its population with at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 83% have been fully vaccinated. That puts Cuba second in place globally in vaccination rates among countries with at least 1 million people. Developed first world nations like Canada have only 77% of their population fully vaccinated, while the UK has 68% and Germany 69%. In the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 77% of the population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 61% has been fully vaccinated. What’s allowed Cuba to vaccinate so many citizens is through the development of its very own COVID-19 vaccine, eliminating the need to compete for vaccines like other emerging nations.
Tortilla con Sal: Response to latest NACLA and New Left Review attacks on Nicaragua One attack published by NACLA, “Ortega’s Developmentalism Is Based on the “Popular Economy”—But What Does that Mean?” alleges that the unquestionable economic democratization of Nicaragua’s economy is in fact a mirage that reinforces neoliberal patterns of oligarchic and corporate economic power in Nicaragua. Another attack in New Left Review, “Ortega’s Synthesis” deploys a series of falsehoods to justify Walters’ argument that Nicaragua’s political and economic model is in crisis and unlikely to survive.
Webinars and Delegations
January 26: COVID-19 Response in Chicago and Havana
Friends of the ATC delegations to Nicaragua 2022
Latin American School of Medicine Scholarships
Pastors for Peace delegations to Cuba 2022
To follow Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Cuba daily:
Orinoco Tribune
Stand with Venezuela
Venezuela Solidarity New York
Ultima Noticias (English)
NicaNotes
Tortilla con Sal
Friends of Sandinista Nicaragua
Friends of Evo’s Bolivia
Cuba News
